A few questions about later

Ok, level 14 at the Frost Gate and moving on. But I am curious about the future. I am wearing good items, Fur gloves & etc; when should I start looking for an upgrade?
Are there any quests outside Frost Gate worth doing before moving on?
When I acquire better items and want to remove the runes inserted in the old items does a regular salvage kit do this? Does it then destroy the old item?
What is worth keeping in terms of crafting items at this point? I can only keep a small number of tanned hides.
Are the rare crafting items a must keep? Which crafting items are necessary for the later needs of a Ranger?

Just a few of the many more to come questions about the game that I would really appreciate an answer to.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

you need to use a expert kit to "Attempt" to extract the runes on yoru armor you have now.

"Which crafting items are necessary for the later needs of a Ranger?"

Depends entirely on what armour your thinking of using later on. Better stock up on the following just in case:

Tanned hide
Wood
Scale
Fur squares
Cloth/Linen

Maybe more, i didn't really look at other sets when i could get Druids armour.

Steel if you want studded armor. Silk is for one of the nasks. I can't remember which though. And make sure you keep all your wood. Druid armour I think is the best and it will use alot of wood.

you'll definitely want to upgrade after you ascend, but it all depends upon you char type. if you are a ranged fighter, you'll need to upgrade less and of course melee fighters should do it as often as possible.